An Israeli Air Force drone reportedly struck a jihadist rocket launcher in the Sinai Peninsula near the Israeli-Egyptian border, killing at least five suspected terrorists who were planning to launch shoulder-fired missile at Israel, Egyptian military sources told Palestinian news agency Ma'an on Friday.
Details of the strike remain unclear as Israeli officials decline to comment on the reports, while an Egyptian army spokesman issued a statement on Facebook several hours after the strike denying Israel was behind it.
Ma'an reported that a large explosion was heard on Friday afternoon in Rafah, near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The Egyptian military said there had been two explosions west of the international border 3 km (two miles) from Al Agra on Friday evening but gave no further details.
Egyptian soldiers were searching the area in the North Sinai region to find out more, Egyptian army spokesman Ahmed Ali said in a statement.
AFP cited Egyptian sources as saying the IDF coordinated the attack with the Egyptian authorities. Israel Radio reported the drone fired while still over Israeli airspace, and that residents saw Egyptian army helicopters flying over the area.
On Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz ordered to close the Eilat Airport for two hours.
On Friday, Ma'an quoted an Egyptian security source as saying the IDF's decision to close the air was a precautionary measure taken by Israel based on Egyptian intelligence that terrorists in Sinai planned to target the Jewish state with missiles.
The IDF instructed the Israel Airports Authority to close down the airport in the southern city which borders Egypt due to a "security assessment." The IDF did not release any specific details on the security reasons which prompted the closure.
According to the Egyptian official cited by Ma'an, Salafi terrorists in Sinai planned to target Israel with shoulder-launched missiles with a range of 70 km, which would put them in well in range of the airspace over Eilat Airport.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian army announced that it had killed 60 terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula in the month since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Citing widening “terrorist operations” in “recent times,” the Egyptian military said it was conducting an intensified campaign in Sinai in coordination with the country’s Interior Ministry to crack down on terrorists who “threaten Egyptian national security.”
Terrorists based mainly in north Sinai near Israel’s border have escalated attacks on security forces and other targets since July 3, when the Egyptian army deposed Morsi and installed a new government.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said last month that Egypt has inserted additional military forces – including assault helicopters – into Sinai after receiving permission from Israel, in line with the peace treaty between the two countries.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yisrael Ziv a former head of IDF Operations, said on Thursday night that he “couldn’t rule out the possibility” that there was a connection between the closure of the Eilat Airport and the US decision this week to shut a number of embassies in the region due to al-Qaida terrorist threats.
He suggested that a terrorist plot might have originated on the Egyptian side of the border, in the lawless Sinai Peninsula.
“It appears that we received information in recent hours that something is happening in Sinai,” Ziv told Channel 1 Television.
“Sinai has become a serious problem from a security point of view. Like Afghanistan, it has become an unmanageable territory.”